President Barack Obama will ask Russia to join the United States in slashing its supply of strategic nuclear warheads by about one-third, a senior administration official said.

Obama will announce the goal during a speech Wednesday in Berlin - a city rife with Cold War history.

The president will also outline his goal to reduce U.S. and Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Europe, the official said. The president hopes to work with NATO allies on proposals toward that goal.

It's all part of Obama's "vision of achieving the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons," the official said.

"We will seek to negotiate these reductions with Russia to continue to move beyond Cold War nuclear postures," the official added.

Obama's speech will take place almost exactly 50 years after President John F. Kennedy delivered his "Ich bin ein Berliner" - or "I am a Berliner" - speech in the city that was divided by Western and Soviet occupations during the Cold War.

soundoff(11 Responses)

100%American

Only reason anyone approves of Obama is because he is black, black people like him because he isn't white. White people that approve of him do so because they think it makes them not a racist. Under the Obama administration our national deficit has ballooned more than the last 2 presidents combined. Give me a break, he has not been a good president, and if you think he has your an idiot!

exactly, this liar Obama, would hand over the nukes to the Iran and Hezbollah, and he would you say that is bringing parity and power to a level, we can deal with. If you have voted for Obama in the last Nov. 2012 election you know what you voted for. Now you see the American power, is down the drain, and you would have to live with rest of the life. Now see he is arming the terrorist in Syria and Afganistan, it would help him to lean forward.

Howard McKeon a republican from California on the Arms committe raised hell with Pres.Obamas idea as usual because cut backs in anything military not only hurts the MIC but hurts republicans pockets being filled by their lobbyists as well!!!When will republicans learn we're not in cold war mode any more looking at that atomic clock and Russias not the same as the enemy in the movie DR.Strangelove,those days are over even though there's still some mistrust between countrys..Remember keep your friends close and your enemies closer if you feel that threatened!!

Can someone please explain if it's 1/3 of total nuclear weapons or 1/3 of active weapons? I've been hearing alot about "active" with stories like this. How many are inactive and how inactive are they? Does active mean it's standing in a silo and ready for launch while inactive means it's just stored somewhere. If all we're doing is pulling em out of silos and storing them then that's useless in terms of nuclear disarament. I hope their being destroyed beyond the point of being able to reassemble them again.

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